Judge Sends Two Men to Prison For Illegal Hunting

A federal judge has sentenced two Texas brothers to prison for what prosecutors say may have been the largest deer poaching operation in Kansas history.

James Bobby Butler Jr. was the owner and operator of a hunting camp near Coldwater, where his brother, Marlin Jackson Butler, worked as a guide.

James Butler was sentenced Monday in Wichita to 10 months in prison and has already paid a $25,000 fine. Marlin Butler received an eight-month sentence with no fine.

The brothers, from Martinsville, Texas, pleaded guilty in 2011 to conspiring to violate a federal law prohibiting interstate transport of wildlife taken in violation of state regulations. James Butler also pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.

An appeals court last year ordered new sentences after ruling the district court miscalculated their sentences.

Kammy Reeves

October 29, 2013 at 1:09 am

Maybe, child molesters should be renamed as deer poachers so they will actually spend some time in prison! Besides, I’d hate not having so many deer endangering the lives of drivers on the road! They populate like mosquitoes!

Fuchs Mi

October 29, 2013 at 10:41 am

Another breach of justice. these guys should have gotten 10 years each and both should have paid larger fines. After all they made good money off this. WHAT IN THE HECK DOES CHILD MOLESTERS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS STORY? If you are concerned about how much time they get then take it up with the prosecutors that make deals with the real criminals but go after someone that has a lesser case to make an example.